Today we continue our countdown of the top 11 video game villains with the tenth spot. Some video game villains impress us with their depth, but it must be said, many video game villains are of the "take over the world cuz teh ebils" type. However, if done well, this type of two dimensional villain is really all you need, especially if you can sneak in some details here or there to really add to the evilness of the villain. Today's villain is, in my opinion, the ultimate example what I'm talking about: Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik.
Two things. First, this blog will ignore ALL iterations of Robotnik outside the video games (IE, the comics, the cartoons, etc will be ignored) Two, the author is aware that his name is Eggman in Japan, but will refer to the character as Robotnik from here on out.
Doctor Robotnik wants to take over the world. He's the grandson of Doctor Gerald Robotnik, one of the most brilliant minds the world had ever seen. Ivo Robotnik himself is no slouch either, having an IQ of 300. He has built, among other things, a giant space satellite bearing his face, two giant airship fortresses, countless war machines, robots with limited artificial intelligence, and many many more.
Doctor Robotnik also possesses knowledge of the supernatural. With his machines, he has sought the Seven Chaos Emeralds, special emeralds that hold tremendous power. He has also sought the Master Emerald, which controls the Chaos Emeralds. Not only that, but Robotnik has also managed to temporarily gain control of supernatural creatures, such as the God of Destruction, Chaos, or the Time Devourer, a creature that exists beyond time and space.
Ivo Robotnik's long and illustrious career as a villain began in 1991, with Sonic the Hedgehog. In this game, Robotnik kidnaps several woodland creatures and uses them as fuel for his robots. His plan? Use the robots to take over the world. Sonic the Hedgehog, however, put the kibosh on that plan by destroying his robots, freeing the animals, and facing the Doctor himself several times, beating him easily every time.
After that, Ivo Robotnik's next big plan was to take over the Little Planet, a special orbital body that appears over Never Lake once a year, and turn it into his own private fortress. The Little Planet is also home to the Time Stones, special rocks that control time. To stop Sonic, he creates a special robot named Metal Sonic, a robot with all of Sonic's abilities. Sonic, however, proves a superior opponent, destroys all of Robotniks machines, and saves the Little Planet from the mad doctor.
In another game, Sonic Adventure, Ivo Robotnik revives the God of Destruction, Chaos. His plan is to destroy the city of Station Square, and on its ruins he'll build his own city, the Egg Empire. Not one to put all his eggs in one basket, Robotnik also creates a series of super robots, the E-100 series, which are stronger than his average robot soldiers, and the flying air fortress, the Egg Carrier. Although his overall plans are foiled, Robotnik succeeds in destroying Station Square.
In Sonic Adventure 2, Ivo Robotnik plans on conquering the world with the help of Shadow the Hedgehog. The plan is simple: using the space station ARK's special laser beam, he plans on getting the nations of the world to surrender to him. To demonstrate the laser's power, Ivo blows up a chunk of the moon, giving the world 24 hours to surrender. In this game, Robotnik has: broken into a high security military base and trashed it, awakened a super soldier from cryogenic freezing, hijacked a weapon of mass destruction, USED it, and had it not been for Sonic (again), he would have won. This was, until then, the closest Ivo Robotnik ever came to conquering the world.
There are so many Sonic games, that I can't possibly talk about them all. So let's skip ahead to the analysis.
There isn't much to Dr Robotnik. With him, what you see is what you get: a mad genius who wants to take over the world. That's it. In an industry where villains are so varied, it must come as unusual to you, the reader, to see someone who's so bland and cliche on this list. After all, a mad scientist trying to take over the world whose enemy is a blue hedgehog? What is this, a 1940's serial?
In a way, that's actually part of what makes Ivo Robotnik so great. He's a well established archetype that any audience can be familiar with: the mad scientist trying to take over the world. We've seen this millions of times, from Lex Luthor to Doctor Doofenshmirtz from Phineas and Ferb. Part of the appeal of the mad scientist is seeing him/her create wild and creative machinery to take over the world, the most common being laser beams, monsters, or robots. In this way, Doctor Robotnik is a timeless character: his character archetype has had appeal for over seventy years, and will continue to have appeal long after we're dead.
But being a character archetype alone does not a great character make. After all, gaming has no shortage of mad scientists trying to take over the world. An example would be Dr Wily from Megaman Classic, a villain I considered for this list as well. What makes Doctor Robotnik so different?
First off, unlike Dr Wily, who often relies on the Robot Masters to fight for him, Doctor Robotnik is not afraid to get his hands dirty and fight Sonic himself, often riding on very complex war machines. One of the most famous of these machines is the Death Egg Robot, a giant robot which Robotnik pilots himself.
Second, Robotnik is a bit deeper than the average mad scientist. He notably wants to conquer the world, not destroy it, and will team up with Sonic and any other heroes to save the world, like in Sonic Adventure 2's last stage, He's willing to take hostages, however, and has been known to lie, cheat, and steal whatever he wants. Robotnik, after all, is a bad man.
And that's part of what's so great about him: he's a card carrying villain. If a Sonic game is dark and gritty, Robotnik will be an evil menace (both Sonic Adventure games, for example), and even if the game is light and whimsical, Robotnik will not be any less threatening, just more hammy (like in Sonic Generations)
Ivo Robotnik is a timeless character, one whose appeal will last through every console generation there will ever be. That's what makes him the tenth greatest video game villain.
The Summary:
Name: Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik
Type of Villain: The Megalomaniac, The Evil Genius, The Mad Doctor
Greatest Crime: Blowing up a chunk off the moon, nearly destroying all of time.
Current Status: On the lam, plotting his next move.
Two things. First, this blog will ignore ALL iterations of Robotnik outside the video games (IE, the comics, the cartoons, etc will be ignored) Two, the author is aware that his name is Eggman in Japan, but will refer to the character as Robotnik from here on out.
Doctor Robotnik wants to take over the world. He's the grandson of Doctor Gerald Robotnik, one of the most brilliant minds the world had ever seen. Ivo Robotnik himself is no slouch either, having an IQ of 300. He has built, among other things, a giant space satellite bearing his face, two giant airship fortresses, countless war machines, robots with limited artificial intelligence, and many many more.
Doctor Robotnik also possesses knowledge of the supernatural. With his machines, he has sought the Seven Chaos Emeralds, special emeralds that hold tremendous power. He has also sought the Master Emerald, which controls the Chaos Emeralds. Not only that, but Robotnik has also managed to temporarily gain control of supernatural creatures, such as the God of Destruction, Chaos, or the Time Devourer, a creature that exists beyond time and space.
Ivo Robotnik's long and illustrious career as a villain began in 1991, with Sonic the Hedgehog. In this game, Robotnik kidnaps several woodland creatures and uses them as fuel for his robots. His plan? Use the robots to take over the world. Sonic the Hedgehog, however, put the kibosh on that plan by destroying his robots, freeing the animals, and facing the Doctor himself several times, beating him easily every time.
After that, Ivo Robotnik's next big plan was to take over the Little Planet, a special orbital body that appears over Never Lake once a year, and turn it into his own private fortress. The Little Planet is also home to the Time Stones, special rocks that control time. To stop Sonic, he creates a special robot named Metal Sonic, a robot with all of Sonic's abilities. Sonic, however, proves a superior opponent, destroys all of Robotniks machines, and saves the Little Planet from the mad doctor.
In another game, Sonic Adventure, Ivo Robotnik revives the God of Destruction, Chaos. His plan is to destroy the city of Station Square, and on its ruins he'll build his own city, the Egg Empire. Not one to put all his eggs in one basket, Robotnik also creates a series of super robots, the E-100 series, which are stronger than his average robot soldiers, and the flying air fortress, the Egg Carrier. Although his overall plans are foiled, Robotnik succeeds in destroying Station Square.
In Sonic Adventure 2, Ivo Robotnik plans on conquering the world with the help of Shadow the Hedgehog. The plan is simple: using the space station ARK's special laser beam, he plans on getting the nations of the world to surrender to him. To demonstrate the laser's power, Ivo blows up a chunk of the moon, giving the world 24 hours to surrender. In this game, Robotnik has: broken into a high security military base and trashed it, awakened a super soldier from cryogenic freezing, hijacked a weapon of mass destruction, USED it, and had it not been for Sonic (again), he would have won. This was, until then, the closest Ivo Robotnik ever came to conquering the world.
There are so many Sonic games, that I can't possibly talk about them all. So let's skip ahead to the analysis.
There isn't much to Dr Robotnik. With him, what you see is what you get: a mad genius who wants to take over the world. That's it. In an industry where villains are so varied, it must come as unusual to you, the reader, to see someone who's so bland and cliche on this list. After all, a mad scientist trying to take over the world whose enemy is a blue hedgehog? What is this, a 1940's serial?
In a way, that's actually part of what makes Ivo Robotnik so great. He's a well established archetype that any audience can be familiar with: the mad scientist trying to take over the world. We've seen this millions of times, from Lex Luthor to Doctor Doofenshmirtz from Phineas and Ferb. Part of the appeal of the mad scientist is seeing him/her create wild and creative machinery to take over the world, the most common being laser beams, monsters, or robots. In this way, Doctor Robotnik is a timeless character: his character archetype has had appeal for over seventy years, and will continue to have appeal long after we're dead.
But being a character archetype alone does not a great character make. After all, gaming has no shortage of mad scientists trying to take over the world. An example would be Dr Wily from Megaman Classic, a villain I considered for this list as well. What makes Doctor Robotnik so different?
First off, unlike Dr Wily, who often relies on the Robot Masters to fight for him, Doctor Robotnik is not afraid to get his hands dirty and fight Sonic himself, often riding on very complex war machines. One of the most famous of these machines is the Death Egg Robot, a giant robot which Robotnik pilots himself.
Second, Robotnik is a bit deeper than the average mad scientist. He notably wants to conquer the world, not destroy it, and will team up with Sonic and any other heroes to save the world, like in Sonic Adventure 2's last stage, He's willing to take hostages, however, and has been known to lie, cheat, and steal whatever he wants. Robotnik, after all, is a bad man.
And that's part of what's so great about him: he's a card carrying villain. If a Sonic game is dark and gritty, Robotnik will be an evil menace (both Sonic Adventure games, for example), and even if the game is light and whimsical, Robotnik will not be any less threatening, just more hammy (like in Sonic Generations)
Ivo Robotnik is a timeless character, one whose appeal will last through every console generation there will ever be. That's what makes him the tenth greatest video game villain.
The Summary:
Name: Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik
Type of Villain: The Megalomaniac, The Evil Genius, The Mad Doctor
Greatest Crime: Blowing up a chunk off the moon, nearly destroying all of time.
Current Status: On the lam, plotting his next move.
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